Meet The Team

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Big Ten men's basketball coaches lack the same zeal as their football counterparts to split the league into divisions.

After a full day of meetings at the Sofitel Hotel, basketball coaches have yet to discuss a potential divisional alignment, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.

"I don't think divisional play is where we're headed," McCaffery said. "I guess we could talk about it (Tuesday). It really wasn't on the agenda."

The coaches did talk about future scheduling. In 2014-15, Rutgers and Maryland join the Big Ten to give the league 14 members. It's likely the league schedule stays at 18 games, so based on the current model, Iowa would play five teams twice and eight teams once.

"That model hasn't been decided yet," McCaffery aid. "Who do you place twice, who do you play once and how does it rotate on a year-by-year basis? We did talk about that, but there was nothing decided.

"We're definitely trying to protect rivalries and make sure that you're going to continue to play those teams."

There's also discussion about preserving significant rivalries so the games are played twice annually. Currently there are no protected rivalries in Big Ten basketball.

"If you're Purdue-Indiana, for example. That's different," McCaffery said. "Michigan-Michigan State. For us, we have Iowa-Iowa State, but we're in different leagues. We don't have another team in the state that's in our league. You can go through it and pick those. Those are the two that come to my mind right off the bat."

The coaches will meet on Tuesday morning before adjourning from their spring meetings.